Celadon Incense Burner with Lion-shaped Lid

A celadon incense burner of the twelfth century, the height of Goryeo celadon, 21.2 cm high and 16.3 cm across. It is in two parts: the body in which the incense burned, and a lid in the form of a lion. Three legs shaped like animals carry the body, which is finely incised with cloud all over; cloud is placed at three points round its rim too. The lid is a lion seated on a pedestal patterned with flowers. The lion sits off to the left of the lid, which reads as a deliberate play for visual movement. It faces forward, mouth open, one knee bent; black dots mark the pupils. The mane at the back of its neck and the fur on its haunches are rendered as whorls, and its tail curls up onto its back. The glaze is a pale green-blue with a soft sheen. The incense lit in the body rises through the lion and out of its open mouth. Graceful and composed, it shows how high the celadon incense burner stood at this time. When jade-green celadon peaked in the first half of the twelfth century many such pieces were made in the forms of auspicious animals and plants, and the lion burner in particular was admired even by the Chinese of the Song.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보